Joe: My perspective on it is that ebXML was started well before Web Services (not to mention SOA) was thought as real technologies. WS started as XML RPC ! So I don't think there was an initial conflict, not could have ebXML chose to build its framework on WS technologies. SOAP was introduced at a very late stage of the process. The reason for which vendors did not continue the ebXML route and went the WS route instead (e.g. IBM), I think, are really simple. In the 1999, 2000 time frame B2B was really hot. After all Ariba was thought to be the fastest company to ever reach a billion dollar turnover before it imploded. I think when the B2B market disappeared, ebXML looked liked the right solution for B2B but with no revenue attached. Web Services seemed to have the potential to create more revenue (or it just happened to be the only thing available to hype at the time -just kidding). The unfortunate thing is that the WS community had to claim (rightfully so?) that WS could also do B2B. Of course we have to define what B2B is, because even ebXML cannot do all forms of B2B. Of course when you add people's personality and ego in the mix, you often get comments like "this is an ebXML killer" which was posted by a not so courageous individual when WSCI was released since he did not sign his name. It is probably time that we come to all our senses, avoid divisions and destruction but rather look for convergence. Everybody is doing great work everywhere and I don't why a piece of work should "kill" another. WS and ebXML are technologies on two different levels, with two different focuses, they are vastly more complementary than competing. JJ- -----Original Message----- From: Chiusano Joseph [mailto:chiusano_joseph@bah.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 24, 2004 9:31 AM To: ebxml-dev@lists.ebxml.org; regrep@lists.oasis-open.org; ebSOA Subject: Did ebXML Help Accelerate the Web Services Evolution? I'm in a bit of a "controversial" (tongue-in-cheek) mood today, so I thought I'd through this out and see what comes back. My thoughts are spurred by a book on that I am currently reading. Please note as you read this that I am in a position in which I am vendor neutral. 3 years ago, when the first phase of ebXML was getting ready to wind down, I was a mere observer on various listservs, so I don't have the perspective of someone who was in the throws of things. However, I've been thinking: Did ebXML Help Accelerate the Web Services Evolution? More specifically: I understand that there was a "schism" of sorts at one point (exactly when I am not sure) in which several major vendors pulled out of ebXML. These vendors happen to be those that are considered to be the driving forces behind Web Services (by this I mean the "SOAP/WSDL/UDDI"). Web Services. I wonder - if this "schism" did not take place (assuming that it indeed did), would Web Services have taken off as quickly as they did? Did this "schism" give more motivation to these vendors to evolve the "base" Web Services standards as quickly as they were evolved? What if these vendors had not pulled out of ebXML? What would the landscape look like now? Thoughts? Comments? Kind Regards, Joe Chiusano The ebxml-dev list is sponsored by OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> The list archives are at http://lists.ebxml.org/archives/ebxml-dev/ To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription manager: <http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/> The ebxml-dev list is sponsored by OASIS <http://www.oasis-open.org> The list archives are at http://lists.ebxml.org/archives/ebxml-dev/ To subscribe or unsubscribe from this list use the subscription manager: <http://www.oasis-open.org/mlmanage/>
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